


Summer Movies

by Eglantine



Category: Shakespeare- Works
Genre: Awesome Ladies Ficathon, F/M, Modern AU, Much Ado About Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-01
Updated: 2010-09-01
Packaged: 2017-10-11 09:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/111002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eglantine/pseuds/Eglantine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For an Awesome Ladies Ficathon prompt asking for a modern Beatrice commenting on movies MST3K-style and everyone getting annoyed. It isn't exactly that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Movies

June.

Beatrice's battered red Converse are pressed flat against the plastic back of the chair in front of her, moving it back and forth and back and forth and of course it's the squeakiest chair in the whole damn movie theater and Hero thinks she might scream.

Instead, she places a hand very gently but very deliberately on Beatrice's knee. Beatrice looks up at her from where she's slumped so deep in her chair she's practically sitting on the floor.

"Is there a problem?" she asks, not really bothering to whisper which is another thing that drives Hero a little bit crazy because really? It's so rude, other people are trying to watch the movie and Beatrice's voice has a tendency to carry even in a busy street, not to mention and dark theater filled with silent people.

"No," Hero says in a whisper. "Just... stop jiggling the chair. It's distracting."

"Fine," Beatrice says, straightening in her chair with a huff. She's silent for a while longer, if you don't count laughing at Hero when the epic final battle comes around and Hero spends the entire time hiding her face in her hands-- which Hero doesn't, because-- well, fair enough.

But then Tony Stark and Pepper Potts are on the rooftop and they kiss and Hero has to suppress a squeal of glee and--

"Oh, puh-lease."

"What?" Hero demands, almost forgetting to whisper.

"Like that would happen!"

"Beatrice!" Hero says, so scandalized she really does forget to whisper. "They have so much chemistry! What are you talking about?"

"Fighting does not equal chemistry. In real life, when people bicker and nag and each other, it's because they can't stand each other. Case in point: me and Benedick."

"You and--" Hero breaks off and, glad that Beatrice cannot see her smirk, settles back into her chair. "Never mind."

 

July.

Benedick's tour of duty ends for good just after the fourth. He brings with him this guy from his company, Claudio, who he claims he brought to visit one time before, but Hero is pretty sure he definitely didn't because she would totally remember that.

But maybe he just changed, because Benedick certainly has-- he's tanner, for one thing, much thinner. And something else Hero can't put a finger on, something (she assumes) that comes from experiences the likes of which she will never be able to identify or understand.

Benedick has been in their lives for ever and ever, so it's no big deal when Hero casually suggests that to him and Beatrice that hey, maybe the three of them could catch a movie-- and why not bring some friends, too? You have friends that like movies, right, Benedick?

Friends obviously meaning Claudio.

But Benedick and Beatrice, damn them, take her at her word, which is why she is sitting in a theater with Benedick's friend Pedro trying to flirt on one side, Margaret making out with that wierdo Borachio on the other, and the sounds of Benedick and Beatrice's (unwhispered) arguing from the opposite end of the row. She thinks Claudio's down there somewhere, but for all she's managed to talk to him or show off her brand new summer dress that she wore just to impress him, he might not have come at all.

 

August.

She'd hoped he wouldn't, but of course Benedick knows her well enough to know that the fact that she's let almost half the movie go by without a single comment is weird.

"What's up with you today?" he asks, putting a hand on her arm, which she immediately jerks away.

"How can you even ask that?" she hisses. "Your fucking asshole of a friend-- I can't even believe I'm here with you."

"What? How is Claudio being a dick my fault?"

"Because he's your friend!" Beatrice snaps, much louder than she intended, but once she's gotten started, it's hardly as if she can quiet down. Then Benedick might think she's calming down, and that would definitely be false. "Because you just let him leave after he broke my cousin's heart-- Hero, who did nothing but fucking worship him, nevermind how little he may have deserved it--"

"Hey--"

"Oh, and now you're going to defend him? Who are you?"

No one in the theater is paying attention to the movie at this point, but she doesn't even care.

"I'm-- Benedick. Beatrice, what do you want me to do?"

"Are you asking that because you want me to shut up, or because you mean it?"

"Beatrice, I--"

"You what, Benedick? You know what? I don't even care. I don't know why I'm here." She's glad they are the only people sitting in their aisle, because it's awkward enough to storm out when you have to crabwalk between seats, nevermind if there had been people in them. She hears the squeak of the chair as Benedick stands, and an instant later his hand is on her arm. She whirls around to face him. Her face is hot with anger, she can feel it, but she bites her tongue and waits for Benedick to say whatever he's going to say-- but he doesn't say anything.

He just looks at her, and it's so weird because he's never looked at her-- at anyone like that before, at Beatrice is too goddamned angry to try and parse what it means, but she can't just storm out now, so she looks away, down at her shoes because she doesn't know where else to look.

"Are you my friend or not?" she asks, voice low.

"Of course. We're--" He hesitates for a fraction of a second, and Beatrice looks up at him sharply. But then she wonders if maybe she didn't imagine it, because he continues seamlessly, "friends."

 

Almost September.

Claudio and Hero are making out in the back row, and Beatrice honestly doesn't know how she feels about that, but if Hero's happy, then she's happy. That's how it goes.

She's not really paying any attention to the movie, making idle comments just because she ought to. It's a piece of crap, but that's because no one cared when they were picking it-- Claudio and Hero knew they weren't going to be watching it, and Beatrice went along because she didn't want to be alone in the house in the heat.

She isn't really sure why Benedick came, but here he is, sitting next to her, eyes fixed on the screen like he's actually seriously engaged in the film, which absolutely cannot be true, because it's seriously crap and she thought Benedick was smarter than that.

She says as much.

He looks at her.

"Beatrice," he says, and he's got that twitch at the corner of his mouth like when he's trying to look serious, but he's about to tell a joke and has already started laughing at himself.

"What?"

"I love you. I honestly love you, not like a friend, or a joke-- I love you. Isn't that strange?"

"Oh, my God."

Benedick blanches. "No, look, Beatrice, I'm sorry, it was-- it was just a joke, it--"

"Benedick, shhhh," Beatrice says, reaching over and twining her fingers in his. "You're ruining this excellent film."

She fixes her eyes on the screen, like this is the most important scene she has ever seen in her entire goddamned life.

She can't stop smiling.


End file.
